The last sermon of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

And Human Rights

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) delivered his last sermon (Khutbah) on
the ninth of Dhul Hijjah (12th and last month of the Islamic year), 10 years after
Hijrah (migration from Makkah to Madinah) in the Uranah Valley of mount
Arafat. His words were quite clear and concise and were directed to the entire
humanity.
After praising, and thanking Allah he said:

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I
shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you
very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here
today.

1. People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so
regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust.
2. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.
3. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will
indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds.
4. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest
obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to
keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged
that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn
Abd Al-Muttalib (Prophet’s uncle) shall henceforth be waived…
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that
he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of
following him in small things.

5. people, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women,
but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them
as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they
 abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in
kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are
your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not
make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never
to be unchaste.

6. people, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily

prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth
in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a
non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white
has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white
except bypiety (taqwa) and good action.
7. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the
Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a
Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and
willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
8. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer your deeds.
So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

9. people, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will
be born.
Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey
to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qu'ran and my example, the
Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.
 All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to
others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those
who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed
your message to your people”.
(Reference: See Al-Bukhari, Hadith 1623, 1626, 6361)

Rights of the citizens in an Islamic State.

As these rights are more extensive than the general human rights which have been
described earlier, they need separate treatment.

1. The Security of Life and Property

In the address which the Prophet delivered on the occasion of the Farewell Hajj,
he said:
"Your lives and properties are forbidden to one another till you meet your
Lord on the Day of Resurrection."

Allah Almighty has laid down in the Holy Quran:

"Anyone who kills a believer deliberately will receive as his reward (a

sentence) to live in Hell for ever. God will be angry with him and curse
him, and prepare dreadful torment for him" (4:93)

. The Prophet has also said about the dhimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the
Muslim State): "One who kills a man under covenant (i.e. a dhimmi) will
not even smell the fragrance of Paradise" (al-Bukhari and Abu Dawud)

 Islam prohibits homicide but allows only one exception, that the killing is
done in the due process of law which the Quran refers to as bi al-haqq (with
the truth). Therefore a man can be killed only when the law demands it, and
it is obvious that only a court of law can decide whether the execution is
being carried out with justice or without justification.
 In case of war or insurrection, a just and righteous government alone,
which follows the Shari'ah or the Islamic Law, can decide whether a war is
just or unjust, whether taking of a life is justified or not; and whether a
person is a rebel or not and who can be sentenced to death as a punishment.
These weighty decisions cannot be left in the hands of a court which has
become heedless to Allah and is under the influence of the administration. A
judiciary like this may miscarry justice.
 Also, nor can the crimes of state be justified on the authority of the Holy
Quran or Traditions (hadith) when the state murders its citizens openly and
secretly without any hesitation or on the slightest pretext, because they are
opposed to its unjust policies and actions or criticize it for its misdeed, and
also provides protection to its hired assassins who have been guilty of the
heinous crime of murder of an innocent person resulting in the fact, that
neither the police take any action against such criminals nor can any proof or
witnesses against these criminals be produced in the courts of law. The very
existence of such a government is a crime and none of the killings carried
out by them can be called "execution for the sake of justice" in the
phraseology of the Holy Quran.
 Along with security of life, Islam has with equal clarity and definiteness
conferred the right of security of ownership of property, as mentioned earlier
with reference to the address of the Farewell Hajj. On the other hand, the
Holy Quran goes so far as to declare that the taking of people's possessions
 or property is completely prohibited unless they are acquired by lawful
means as permitted in the Laws of God. The Law of God categorically
declares "Do not devour one another's wealth by false and illegal means"
(2:188).

2. The Protection of Honour

The second important right is the right of the citizens to the protection of their
honour. In the address delivered on the occasion of the Farewell Hajj, to which
referred earlier, the Prophet did not only prohibit the life and property of the
Muslims to one another, but also any encroachment upon their honour, respect
and chastity were forbidden to one another. The Holy Quran clearly lays down:

(a) "You who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of another set.
(b) Do not defame one another.
(c) Do not insult by using nicknames.
(d) And do not backbite or speak ill of one another" (49:11-12).

This is the law of Islam for the protection of honour which is indeed much
superior to and better than the Western Law of Defamation. According to the
Islamic Law if it is proved that someone has attacked the honour of another
person, then irrespective of the fact whether or not the victim is able to prove
himself a respectable and honourable person, the culprit will in any case get his
due punishment.

But the interesting fact about the Western Law of Defamation is that the person
who files suit for defamation has first to prove that he is a man of honour and
public esteem and during the interrogation he is subjected to the scurrilous
attacks, accusations and innuendoes of the defence council to such an extent
that he earns more disgrace than the attack on his reputation against which he
had knocked the door of the court of law. On top of it he has also to produce
such witnesses as would testify in the court that due to the defamatory
accusations of the culprit, the accused stands disgraced in their eyes. Good
Gracious! what a subtle point of law, and what an adherence to the spirit of
Law! How can this unfair and unjust law be compared to the Divine law?

Islam declared blasphemy as a crime irrespective of the fact whether the

accused is a man of honour or not, and whether the words used for blasphemy
have actually disgraced the victim and harmed his reputation in the eyes of the
public or not. According to the Islamic Law the mere proof of the fact that the
accused said things which according to common sense could have damaged the
 reputation and honour of the plaintiff, is enough for the accused to be declared
guilty of defamation.

3. The Sanctity and Security of Private Life

Islam recognizes the right of every citizen of its state that there should be no
undue interference or encroachment on the privacy of his life.

The Holy Quran has laid down the injunction: "Do not spy on one another"
(49:12). "Do not enter any houses except your own homes unless you are
sure of their occupants' consent" (24:27).

The Prophet has gone to the extent of instructing his followers that a man
should not enter even his own house suddenly or surreptitiously. He should
somehow or other inform or indicate to the dwellers of the house that he is
entering the house, so that he may not see his mother, sister or daughter in a
condition in which they would not like to be seen, nor would he himself like to
see them in that condition.

Peering into the houses of other people has also been strictly prohibited, so
much so that there is the saying of the Prophet that if a man finds another
person secretly peering into his house, and he blinds his eye or eyes as a
punishment then he cannot be called to question nor will he be liable to
prosecution.

The Prophet has even prohibited people from reading the letters of others, so
much so that if a man is reading his letter and another man casts sidelong
glances at it and tries to read it, his conduct becomes reprehensible. This is the
sanctity of privacy that Islam grants to individuals.

On the other hand in the modern civilized world we find that not only the letters
of other people are read and their correspondence censored, but even their
photostate copies are retained for future use or blackmail. Even bugging
devices are secretly fixed in the houses of the people so that one can hear and
tape from a distance the conversation taking place behind closed doors. In other
words it means that there is no such thing as privacy and to all practical
purposes the private life of an individual does not exist.

This espionage(spying) on the life of the individual cannot be justified on moral

grounds by the government saying that it is necessary to know the secrets of the
dangerous persons. Though, to all intents and purposes, the basis of this policy
is the fear and suspicion with which modern governments look at their citizens
who are intelligent and dissatisfied with the official policies of the government.
This is exactly what Islam has called as the root cause of mischief in politics.

The injunction of the Prophet is:

"When the ruler begins to search for the causes of dissatisfaction amongst
his people, he spoils them" (Abu Dawud).

The Amir Mu'awiyah has said that he himself heard the Prophet saying: "If you
try to find out the secrets of the people, then you will definitely spoil them
or at least you will bring them to the verge of ruin." The meaning of the
phrase 'spoil them' is that when spies (C.I.D. or F.B.I.agents) are spread all
around the country to find out the affairs of men, then the people begin to look
at one another with suspicion, so much so that people are afraid of talking
freely in their houses lest some word should escape from the lips of their wives
and children which may put them in embarrassing situations. In this manner it
becomes difficult for a common citizen to speak freely, even in his own house
and society begins to suffer from a state of general distrust and suspicion.